Due to the fragile nature of glass, glass manufacturers must invest considerable resources in both labor and materials to adequately protect flat glass assemblies, windshields and similar products. In that regard, glass packaging must be designed to protect the glass from damage that may be caused by piece to piece contact, as well as by handling and shipping.
More specifically, complex glass shapes or assemblies require the use of interleaves or sleeves constructed from styrofoam, cardboard or craft paper to separate the individual glass assemblies, thereby preventing scratching or other damage. The glass and packing materials are then securely loaded into wooden or cardboard crates or steel racks for shipping purposes.
Such glass packaging systems and methods, however, suffer from a number of problems. First, most such materials used for glass packaging must be custom die-cut, thereby increasing packaging costs. Moreover, due to high disposal costs, such materials require significant storage space between uses. That storage must also be closely controlled, since such materials fail to provide adequate protection to the glass if they are exposed to moisture and/or other contaminants.
Further, to ensure damage free shipment, prior art packaging materials tend to be overused, again raising costs. Such materials are also not amenable to use in automated glass packaging. As a result, complex glass assemblies must be manually packed and un-packed, yet again contributing to higher costs as well as increasing the risk of damage to the glass and injury to workers.
Some of these problems have been overcome by the application of various types of thin coatings to the glass assemblies, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,200,670 and 3,583,932. However, such coatings can be difficult to remove and are not typically re-usable. Moreover, since the entire surface of the glass assembly must be treated, such coatings can also be costly. Most importantly, however, such thin coatings do not properly protect complex shapes which are not or cannot be packed in tight surface-to-surface contact. This is especially true at key interference points between assemblies, such as corners and/or edges.
As a result, there exists a need for an improved glass packaging system and method. Such a system and method would use an interleaving material that could be applied only to those areas of a glass assembly requiring protection, thereby saving material and optimizing protection. The interleaving material for such a system and method would be moisture resistant, easily re-usable and compact to save storage space and/or reduce or eliminate disposal problems. Such a system and method would also be amenable to automation using commercially available, proven equipment for highly reliable and simple operation.